From Russia With Love
by AlexandraZombie
Summary: <html><head></head>Alternate Universe. Set in war-torn Russia, the story follows the escape and life of the royal family's youngest princess and an American soldier. GWay/OC</html>
1. Chapter One - Nachala

"I DON'T want to talk about it now" she yelled down the colossal staircase, pausing for effect before she inched sideways around the gritty stone gargoyle that partially blocked the door to her room.

She slammed it behind her and threw herself down on her bed, pondering the implications of what she had just been told.

_Are they crazy? This is 21st century Europe, not the dark ages, people don't "arrange marriages" anymore! And of all people, to _**_him?_**

She had known him since she was a little girl in pigtails and he was in elementary school, mainly as the annoying American boy who lived in one of the grand houses for international government officials on their estate. There had been a huge celebration underway in the estate gardens, welcoming the Vice President of the United States of America, and her mother pulled her away from the flower bed she had been playing in and brushed the leaves off her dress.

_"__I was playing a game, Mama!" she protested._

_"You can go back to playing in a minute, I want you to meet someone important" she replied, tucking a few stray strands of Dominika's white blonde hair behind her ear._

_She led her daughter around to a tall, dark-haired man with a kindly smile and a sharply pressed dark blue suit. He was flanked by a pretty blonde woman in a skirt and blazer in bright red._

_"Dominika, this is Mr and Mrs Way, they are moving to live in 'Krasivaya' today all the way from the United States"_

_Although she hadn't understood any of it at the time, that year had been a critical turning point for the political situation in her country. Russia had long been threatened with invasion by The People's Republic of China and it seemed that invasion was imminent at any time. Russia had made trade deals with the United States after a long period of strained relations, and thus secured the US as an ally. The US now had interests in protecting Russia, and the two nations had combined their military powers with great success for both sides._

_This is where the Ways came in. Mr Way had just been elected as Vice President in the United States and it was decided in order to strengthen the bonds with their newfound brother country, they would relocate to Russia and set up military base there to help train the Russians and protect the country from invasion. Krasivaya was the largest and most lavish house on the estate, and the closest one to the royal home where Dominika lived._

_She was the youngest of the Russian king and queen's four children, two older brothers and a sister. That made her fourth in-line for the throne but she had little interest in political pursuits._

_"And this is our eldest son, Gerard" Mrs Way said, reaching out to steer a boy several years older than Dominika into her line of sight._

_He seemed tall for his age, slightly stocky with dark shaggy hair and deep green-brown eyes. He looked at Dominika and a little smile pulled up the corner of his mouth._

_"Hey" he said. She was silent till her Mother nudged her in the side discreetly._

_"Pleased to meet you" she replied, royal training kicking in._

_"Why don't you go show Gerard the estate, Dominika? And the adults will talk"_

_She had to take two steps at a time to keep pace with him as they walked through the rose gardens and down the hill to where the houses spread across the valley of the estate. The grass was short and fresh under their shoes, stretching out forever in front of them. It was summer, the air was hot and sun beat down them as they made their way across the field to the shade of the oak trees around the two houses._

_"How old are you anyway?" he asked her, kicking a rock with his black trainer._

_"Five" she replied._

_"Five! Haha! That makes me twice as old as you!"_

_Dominika screwed up her face at him._

_"That just means you'll die first, so haha!"  
><em>  
>And that was the beginning of it all.<p> 


	2. Chapter Two - Malen'kaya printsessa

_The next time she remembered seeing him was down by the stream next to the woods. Her parents often allowed her to wander the estate on her own as long as she stayed close to the house, and on this particular day, she had her white cotton dress bunched in one hand and a wicker basket in the other as she stepped barefoot down the hill to the water. She looked up from her feet as she heard splashing ahead to see the Way boy sword fighting an imaginary villain with a stick. He was barefoot with his jeans rolled up to his knees as he splashed in the water. She ignored him as she knelt at the creek side._

_"Hey" he called, "How long have you been there?"_

_"Only a minute" she paused, "You talk funny"_

_"You talk funny" he replied "I can barely understand you"_

_"Why are you talking to me then?"_

_"Don't worry about it then. Just trying to be friendly"_

_She picked through the muddy creek bed, plucking out the shiny rainbow colored stones as she found them. Pink, purple, turquoise…_

_"So you're a princess, huh?"_

_"I guess, my brothers will be kings though, I'm the youngest one"_

_"I'm the oldest of my family"_

_"Do you have any sisters?" she asked hopefully. Her sister was already a teenager and rarely had the patience for her games._

_"No, sorry, just a brother"_

_"Oh"_

_"I never thought I'd see a princess digging in the mud" he laughed. She scowled at him and got up, rinsing her hands in the cool water. A breeze blew through the trees from the woods and rustled her dress. Just as she turned around to leave, cold water splashed her back and she whipped around to stare at him accusingly._

_"Don't splash me!"_

_"It wasn't me, must have been a sudden rain shower"_

_"You're mean Gerald!"_

_"Its Gerard"_

_"Whatever, I'm going now"_

_"You have a lot of attitude for a five year old" he retorted._

_"I'm going to be six soon"_

_He sniggered and pulled something from his pocket, holding it behind his back._

_"What's so funny?"_

_"Nothing. Hey, Dominika, are you afraid of snakes?"_

_"Wha-?"_

_She didn't have time to finish before his white hand flew out from behind his back and towards her, and to her horror a black snake landed only a few inches from her feet. She screamed loud enough to scare every single bird out of the woods and took off running towards the estate._

_"__Wait, Dominika!" Gerard yelled in-between laughing "its just made of rubber!"_

She cringed at the memory, ever since then, he had taken every opportunity possible to trick or scare her, and while he thought it was hilarious, it annoyed her to no end.

The Ways had attended her Confirmation Day when she was twelve, and seventeen year old Gerard sat next to her in the church pews. She had just started to come around to the idea of boys in the last year or so and she was acutely aware of being in close proximity of cute, annoying Gerard. Her white lace gloved hands tucked neatly in her lap and her rosary beads hanging around her neck, she glanced sideways at him under her lashes. He was annoying, but cute and sometimes sweet, and she felt like they had kind of grown up together.

The occasion was bittersweet, Gerard would be shipped off to America soon for his military training and she wouldn't see him two whole years. She pretended she didn't care, but deep down, she didn't want her friend to go.

The priest told the crowd to kneel and they shuffled to their knees, heads bowed and hands clasped as a soft hymn began to float through the stone church.

_"__Psst" Gerard hissed. She glanced at him sideways with her head down._

_"What?"_

_"Whatever you do, don't imagine the priest standing up there in his underwear"_

_She burst out laughing, and buried her face in her arms trying to stifle her laughter._

_"Don't think about it!" he urged, but she could hear the laughter in his voice. She shoved him with her elbow and he lost his balance and fell into the carpeted aisle. The whole church was silent as they stared at the two of them, now laughing uncontrollably on the floor._

_Dominika heard a throat clear above them and looked up to see the elderly priest staring down at her, disapproval written all over his face._

_"You two. Out!"_

_That Gerard always got her in trouble._


End file.
